The Guide to Affordable Holiday Parties

Oct 29, 2009 Author: admin | Filed under: Party Ideas

Why not try something different this holiday party season, like a theme that would also be affordable for both your party guests and you? All it takes is a little creativity! If you’re planning a party, these tips will help keep costs down, while still creating a holiday fete everyone will remember:

New Spins on Holiday Party Themes

For adults, save money by throwing a re-gifting and recycling party. Most people can locate at least one item they’ve received that they don’t want, so let them wrap them up and give them again. Make sure everyone knows who is on the guest list, though, so people don’t re-gift items they received from other party guests. If you don’t want to risk hurt feelings, people can just bring impulse purchases they made but have never used. The recycled items should be limited to a dollar amount that’s appropriate for the group, so people at all income levels can participate. Another spin on this concept is to have everyone print holiday gift certificate blanks, bring them to the party and then use names in a bowl to decide who will give the certificates to whom. Once everyone has chosen a name, each guest fills in the blank line on their certificate with the free gift they’re willing to give the recipient, such as babysitting, cooking a meal or hand-addressing holiday card envelopes. This idea obviously works best with a small group who know each other pretty well.

If you’re giving a kids Christmas or Hanukkah party, the guests can bring low-cost items that would be appropriate for a homeless shelter that serves families or a local animal rescue organization. If you call the organization in advance, you can get a list of low-cost items you can recommend to your guests. Suggest that they wrap the gifts in holiday wrapping paper as usual and then everyone can go as a group to deliver them. This would not only be meaningful for everyone involved but it would also teach the children the true meaning of the holidays.

Make Your Own Holiday Party Decorations and Invitations

The Web has a enormous selection of free printable invitations for both adults and kids. So why waste your money on invitations from a stationary store when printing them at home is so easy and inexpensive? There are also plenty of vintage Christmas images on the Web, which make perfect party decorations. If you can find large enough art, you can make banners or signs. If not, you have the option of decorating flower arrangements or plants with clip art cut-outs or making table place cards. If your guests like vintage art, try printing and cutting out various free vintage greeting cards and attach them to a string that you drape around the room or the buffet table. This will create a vintage feel and make the room look great! To enhance the shabby chic, vintage holiday theme, you can get mix-and-match used plates and silverware at a thrift store instead of buying paper plates and plastic forks, knives and spoons.

The most important thing to remember when trying to plan a budget-conscious winter holiday party is that you need to be creative. If you infuse style into your party plans, no one will ever know it was a bargain! We all know the economy is less than robust now but that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate the winter holidays in style.